Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 13:00:00 Total observation time: 4.08 hours
Official Counter: Eric Mueller
Observers: Christine Restell
Visitors: Somewhere between 50 and 75 sightseers on the summit today. Several people including a birder from NC helped to look for birds for a bit.
Weather: Isolated rainshowers dotted the area all day. We shut down from 9:00 to 9:40 because of rain, and ended the watch an hour early because a long string of storm cells rode west to east between Route 2 and the NH border, effectively shutting down the migration pipeline. Temps rose from 58 to 70 F, skies were partly to mostly cloudy with mostly cumulus clouds, and winds were from the west at 4-7 mph with gusts from 12 to 18 mph in the last two hours. The wind put a noticeable chill into people on the platform. The visibility was very good except where rain was falling.
Raptor Observations: My thanks to Christine Restell for her good eyes and good company today.
The scattered rainstorms early in the session put a damper on all raptor flight. We didn't see any of the local TVs until almost 10:45 EST, but soon after they rose up, the eagles and other raptors followed, at least for another 90 minutes. Rainstorms kept popping in a 30 mile radius of the mountain which had to have some effect on go/no-go decisions by the birds, and we ultimately decided to shut down as the storms closed off the area north of us. 4 Bald Eagles and 1 Osprey were all that made it through the short window between late morning and early afternoon.
Non-migrating raptors: TV - 7 (minimum number, includes a kettle of 5 birds to our east) Bald Eagle - 1 (Ad) Cooper's Hawk - 1 Red-tail - 1 Broad-wing - 2 (Juv) UR - 1
Non-raptor Observations: The only thing out of the ordinary was a flock of 5 D-C Cormorants which circled up to our east for about a minute and then disappeared. D-C Cormorant - 5 MODO - 1 Chim Swift - 3 Comm Raven - 1 BC Chickadee - 2 Gr Catbird - 1 Amer Robin - 1 Cedar WW - 4 E Towhee - 1
Predictions: The forecast calls for mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies, temps in the 60's and low 70's, low humidity and winds from the WSW at 5-10 mph, with no chance of rain. Eagles should be able to deal with these light-to-moderate headwinds, so we're hoping to see more of them tomorrow. ======================================================================== Report submitted by ERIC MUELLER (<ericmueller1912...>) Wachusett Mountain information may be found at: http://www.massbird.org/emhw
